The present invention relates to casino card games. Specifically, the present invention is a card game in which a player wagers on one of two hands and is rewarded if, upon comparison, the player has wagered on the higher ranking hand.
Card games such as Pai Gow Poker and Baccarat are well known forms of casino-type games. Specifically, these games are attractive to players because these games give the player a reasonable chance of winning their wager. Moreover, these games provide the casinos with a reasonable return for hosting the game.
Baccarat is a live table game that uses a standard deck of fifty-two playing cards. The object of the game of Baccarat is for the bettor to successfully wager on whether the Bank""s hand or the Player""s hand is going to win. The bettor receives even money for his wager if he selects the winning hand and loses his wager if he selects the losing hand. Each bettor makes a wager on whether the Bank""s hand or the Player""s hand will win. After all wagers are made, two cards are dealt from the shoe to the Bank position and two cards are dealt from the shoe to the Player position on the table layout. The cards are turned face up and the value of the Bank hand the Player hand is determined, modulo ten. The highest hand value in Baccarat is nine. All hand values range from a low of zero to a high of nine. If when the cards are added together, the total of the hand exceeds nine, then the hand value is determined modulo ten. For example, a seven and a eight total fifteen, but the hand value is five. An Ace and a nine total ten, but the hand value is zero. Whichever of the Bank hand or the Player hand is closest to a total of nine is the winner.
Depending on the point total of the initial Player""s hand and the initial Dealer""s hand, one more card may be dealt to either the Player""s hand, the Dealer""s hand or both. The rules for determining whether a third card is dealt are fixed; that is, there is no discretion for either the Player""s hand or the Dealer""s hand on whether a third card is dealt.
Rule #1: If the initial two card Player hand has a point total of 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5, the Player hand draws a third card. If the initial two card Player hand has a point total of 6 or 7, the Player hand stands and does not receive a third card.
Rule #2: If the Player hand stands and does not draw a third card, then the Bank hand follows Rule #1. In other words, if the Player hand has a point total of 6 or 7, the Bank hand draws a third card on a point total of 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 and the Bank hand stands on a point total of 6 or 7.
Rule #3: If the Player hand draws a third card, the Bank hand must draw or stand as follows:
At the end of each hand, winning wagers are paid and losing wagers are collected by the house. Any commission due to the house is marked in commission boxes in the center of the table.
One drawback of Baccarat is that the draw rules are complicated. Moreover, Baccarat is an unfamiliar game to most bettors. Thus, some players are intimidated from playing.
In Pai Gow Poker, seven cards are dealt to the banker and the players. The banker and players arrange the cards into a five-card high hand and a two-card low hand. Each player compares his or her high hand to the banker""s high hand and his or her low hand to the banker""s low hand. The player wins if both hands outrank the corresponding banker""s hands according to conventional poker rankings. If one of the player""s hands outranks one of the banker""s hands, and the other banker""s hand ties or outranks the other player hand, the player and banker xe2x80x9cpushxe2x80x9d and the player neither wins nor loses his wager. If both the banker""s hands outrank or tie the player""s hands, the player loses his or her wager.
It can be seen that Pai Gow Poker lacks complicated draw rules; the player uses the cards he or she is dealt. Also, the comparison of hands in Pai Gow Poker is still fairly complicated and can be difficult to apply unless the player is familiar with conventional Poker rankings.
Thus, it can be seen that there is a need in the art for a casino card game that is simpler than prior art casino card games yet provides the player with a reasonable chance of winning.
A casino card game between a casino and at least one player using at least one deck of fifty-two cards begins with the player placing a wager on either a first hand or a second hand. A dealer deals three cards to a first hand and three cards to a second hand. The first hand and second hand are examined. If either hand has a predetermined three-card combination, optionally a three of a kind, the first hand is compared to the second hand. The winning hand is the hand with the higher ranking three-card combination. If both hands have three-card combinations of equal rank, a push is declared and the player""s wagers are returned.
If neither hand has the predetermined three-card combination, the hands are into a two-card component hand and a single-card component hand. The component hands of the first hand are compared to the corresponding component hands of the second hands. A push occurs when the first two-card hand is equal in rank to the second two-card hand and the first single-card hand is equal in rank to the second single-card hand or if one component hand of the first hand outranks the corresponding component hand of the second hand and the other component hand of the second hand outranks the corresponding component hand of the first hand. Otherwise, the winning hand is the hand with one component hand outranking the corresponding component hand of the other hand and the remaining component hand outranking or tying the corresponding component hand of the other hand. Players wagering on the winning hand are rewarded. Optionally, the casino retains a commission on all winning wagers.
In a second aspect of the present game, each player wagers on his or her own hand rather than communal hands. Play is otherwise as described above.